The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has acknowledged it “needs to apologise” for threatening to pull the women’s team from competition, though the organisation denies any sexist intent behind its actions. According to a report by The Telegraph, the WRU allegedly warned the women’s team they could be withdrawn from the upcoming Rugby World Cup if they did not agree to new contract terms.

Tommy Reffell insists he will have no problem if Warren Gatland gives out the hairdryer treatment in the Wales dressing room this autumn. Reffell was one of the Leicester players who took a full blast of hot air from Tigers coach Michael Cheika recently.

Lock Ben Carter has been released from Wales’ Autumn Nations Series squad after suffering a knee injury and replaced by Cardiff’s Teddy Williams. Dragons skipper Carter was hurt during training, the Welsh Rugby Union said.

It may be the “Land of his Mother” but new Wales squad member Blair Murray will be doing all he can to learn the words of “Land of my Fathers” ahead of his potential first Wales cap next week. The 23-year-old Scarlets wing has made such an impact since arriving in Wales in June that he found himself being chosen by Warren Gatland as one of two uncapped players in his 35-man squad for the November clashes with Fiji, Australia and South Africa.

The Wales coaches and players arrived in camp ahead of the three-match Autumn Nations Series this week, all with the same blunt message in mind – “we’ve got to start winning matches”. Warren Gatland’s men may have wound-up their summer tour to Australia with a 36-35 win over Queensland, but the hard facts show they have lost their last nine internationals and haven’t tasted victory in a meaningful match since beating Georgia 43-19 at last year’s World Cup on 7 October.

Dwayne Peel says he’s delighted to see so many of his Scarlets receive “the greatest honour” of being selected by their country. Eight of his players have been named in the Wales squad for the autumn internationals, with the uncapped Blair Murray joined by fellow wing Tom Rogers, centre Eddie James, fly-half Sam Costelow, back rower Taine Plumtree, hooker Ryan Elias and props Kemsley Mathias and Henry Thomas.

Llandovery head coach Euros Evans has praised his side for finding a way to win after their 33-26 weekend triumph at Aberavon in Super Rygbi Cymru took them up to fifth place. The Drovers held firm and eventually went on to seal a third straight victory following up on their win at Newport and the six-point home success against Swansea. The hat-trick of wins followed three defeats on the spin before that.

Welsh rugby enjoyed its most successful weekend in the league for more than three years amid a hat-trick of victories for the Scarlets, Ospreys and Cardiff. It’s the best return since all four regions won in March 2021. There have been three wins since then, but not all against teams from other countries. To hear Hymns and Arias echoing around Welsh grounds over the weekend was an indication of just how much the victories meant after some tough times.

Dwayne Peel declared himself satisfied as his Scarlets team secured a third successive win in the United Rugby Championship by beating Zebre Parma 30-8 in Llanelli. Tries from Tom Rogers, Macs Page, Blair Murray and captain Josh Macleod helped Scarlets recover from Ben Cambriani’s early score for the Italians to earn the bonus point.

For much of the past 30-odd years in Welsh rugby, you could rely on Welsh No.10s to do one thing well – kick their goals. They may not have all been the most devastating broken-field runners, or soft-handed distributors.

Having just reached a major career milestone, Rhodri Williams is now on course to make Welsh rugby history. The Dragons scrum-half made his 150th league appearance in last Saturday’s BKT United Rugby Championship clash with Benetton at Rodney Parade.

Former Wales centre Ashley Beck and ex-Cardiff hooker Marc Breeze have been hired by the Welsh Rugby Union as pathway coaches. The pair will work with age group teams in both the men’s and women’s game, in roles part-funded by the British and Irish Lions.

Warren Gatland is preparing for another “tough, physical encounter” against the Fijians when his Wales side open their three-match Autumn Nations Series at the Principality Stadium on Sunday 10 November. Fiji will arrive in Cardiff 60 years on from their first visit and seeking their first win on Welsh soil.

Joe Schmidt has bolstered his 34-srong Grand Slam chasing Wallabies squad for their clash against Wales in the Autumn Nations Series by recalling 2023 World Cup players Samu Kerevi and Will Skelton. Skelton, who captained the Aussies against Georgia at the World Cup, and Kerevi have not featured in this year’s internationals to date, but are among five fresh faces brought into the tour party by Schmidt.

Warren Gatland has insisted he has no desire to “protect my own backside” while seeking to end Wales’s losing streak in international rugby. Wales head into next month’s Tests at home to Fiji, Australia and world champions South Africa on a run of nine straight defeats, with the team’s most recent Test victory coming against Georgia during last year’s Rugby World Cup in France.

Warren Gatland has turned to a couple of new faces from outside of Wales in a bid to turn the tide in results this autumn. Gloucester second-row Freddie Thomas and Scarlets wing Blair Murray are the uncapped pair drafted in by Gatland for the November Tests. Thomas was born in the West Country whilst Murray is a New Zealander, but both qualify for Wales through their grandparents and in Murray’s case, his mother as well.

Steff Hughes branded his final home game as “bittersweet” as the Dragons missed out on another win at Rodney Parade. The 30-year-old centre paid tribute to the club as his final appearance in Gwent ended with a frustrating 21-31 loss to Benetton Rugby.

Scarlets skipper Josh Macleod insists there is more to come from his team following their dramatic victory over the Bulls. The west Wales region came from 19-7 down to consign the visitors from Pretoria to their first league defeat of the season, with wingers Blair Murray and Tom Rogers crossing for superb solo tries.

Callum Sheedy will captain Cardiff for the first time when he leads the team out at the Hive Stadium against Edinburgh on Saturday. “It’s a very proud moment for myself and my family,” said the fly-half, who came on board from Bristol over the summer.

Exeter Chiefs have been such a reliable conveyor belt for Welsh talent in recent years, it hardly seemed necessary to check it was still powered up. But this season, someone appears to have unplugged things down at Sandy Park.